Matthew D Galsky1, Huan Wang2, Noah M Hahn3, Przemyslaw Twardowski4, Sumanta K Pal4, Costantine Albany5, Mark T Fleming6, Alexander Starodub7, Ralph J Hauke8, Menggang Yu9, Qianqian Zhao9, Guru Sonpavde10, Michael J Donovan11, Vaibhav G Patel12, John P Sfakianos13, Josep Domingo-Domenech11, William K Oh12, Nicholas Akers14, Bojan Losic14, Sacha Gnjatic12, Eric E Schadt2, Rong Chen2, Seunghee Kim-Schulze12, Nina Bhardwaj12, Andrew V Uzilov2. 1. Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: matthew.galsky@mssm.edu. 2. Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology and Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Sema4, a Mount Sinai venture, Stamford, CT, USA. 3. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 4. City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, CA, USA. 5. Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA. 6. US Oncology Research, Virginia Oncology Associates, Hampton, VA, USA. 7. Indiana University Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care, Goshen, IN, USA. 8. Nebraska Cancer Specialists, Omaha, NE, USA. 9. Department of Biostatistics & Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin Madison, WI, USA. 10. University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL, USA. 11. Department of Pathology, The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. 12. Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. 13. Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. 14. Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology and Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy may exert immunomodulatory effects, thereby combining favorably with the immune checkpoint blockade. The pharmacodynamic effects of such combinations, and potential predictive biomarkers, remain unexplored. OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety, efficacy, and immunomodulatory effects of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) plus ipilimumab and explore the impact of somatic DNA damage response gene alterations on antitumor activity. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Multicenter single arm phase 2 study enrolling 36 chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. Peripheral blood flow cytometry was performed serially on all patients and whole exome sequencing of archival tumor tissue was performed on 28/36 patients. INTERVENTION: Two cycles of GC followed by four cycles of GC plus ipilimumab. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The primary endpoint was 1-yr overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included safety, objective response rate, and progression-free survival. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 81% of patients, the majority of which were hematologic. The objective response rate was 69% and 1-yr OS was 61% (lower bound 90% confidence interval: 51%). On exploratory analysis, there were no significant changes in the composition and frequency of circulating immune cells after GC alone. However, there was a significant expansion of circulating CD4 cells with the addition of ipilimumab which correlated with improved survival. The response rate was significantly higher in patients with deleterious somatic DNA damage response mutations (sensitivity=47.6%, specificity=100%, positive predictive value=100%, and negative predictive value=38.9%). Limitations are related to the sample size and single-arm design. CONCLUSIONS: GC+ipilimumab did not achieve the primary endpoint of a lower bound of the 90% confidence interval for 1-yr OS of >60%. However, within the context of a small single-arm trial, the results may inform current approaches combining chemotherapy plus immunotherapy from the standpoint of feasibility, appropriate cytotoxic backbones, and potential predictive biomarkers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01524991. PATIENT SUMMARY: Combining chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer is feasible. Further studies are needed to refine optimal combinations and evaluate tests that might identify patients most likely to benefit.
BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy may exert immunomodulatory effects, thereby combining favorably with the immune checkpoint blockade. The pharmacodynamic effects of such combinations, and potential predictive biomarkers, remain unexplored. OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety, efficacy, and immunomodulatory effects of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) plus ipilimumab and explore the impact of somatic DNA damage response gene alterations on antitumor activity. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Multicenter single arm phase 2 study enrolling 36 chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. Peripheral blood flow cytometry was performed serially on all patients and whole exome sequencing of archival tumor tissue was performed on 28/36 patients. INTERVENTION: Two cycles of GC followed by four cycles of GC plus ipilimumab. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The primary endpoint was 1-yr overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included safety, objective response rate, and progression-free survival. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 81% of patients, the majority of which were hematologic. The objective response rate was 69% and 1-yr OS was 61% (lower bound 90% confidence interval: 51%). On exploratory analysis, there were no significant changes in the composition and frequency of circulating immune cells after GC alone. However, there was a significant expansion of circulating CD4 cells with the addition of ipilimumab which correlated with improved survival. The response rate was significantly higher in patients with deleterious somatic DNA damage response mutations (sensitivity=47.6%, specificity=100%, positive predictive value=100%, and negative predictive value=38.9%). Limitations are related to the sample size and single-arm design. CONCLUSIONS:GC+ipilimumab did not achieve the primary endpoint of a lower bound of the 90% confidence interval for 1-yr OS of >60%. However, within the context of a small single-arm trial, the results may inform current approaches combining chemotherapy plus immunotherapy from the standpoint of feasibility, appropriate cytotoxic backbones, and potential predictive biomarkers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01524991. PATIENT SUMMARY: Combining chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer is feasible. Further studies are needed to refine optimal combinations and evaluate tests that might identify patients most likely to benefit.
Authors: Matthew D Galsky; Amir Mortazavi; Matthew I Milowsky; Saby George; Sumati Gupta; Mark T Fleming; Long H Dang; Daniel M Geynisman; Radhika Walling; Robert S Alter; Mohamad Kassar; Jue Wang; Shilpa Gupta; Nancy Davis; Joel Picus; George Philips; David I Quinn; G Kenneth Haines; Noah M Hahn; Qianqian Zhao; Menggang Yu; Sumanta K Pal Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2020-04-09 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Qiang Li; Alexis W Damish; Zoë Frazier; David Liu; Elizaveta Reznichenko; Atanas Kamburov; Andrew Bell; Huiyong Zhao; Emmet J Jordan; S Paul Gao; Jennifer Ma; Philip H Abbosh; Joaquim Bellmunt; Elizabeth R Plimack; Jean-Bernard Lazaro; David B Solit; Dean Bajorin; Jonathan E Rosenberg; Alan D D'Andrea; Nadeem Riaz; Eliezer M Van Allen; Gopa Iyer; Kent W Mouw Journal: Clin Cancer Res Date: 2018-07-06 Impact factor: 12.531